Twelve Words
by mistress amethyst une
Summary: Post-Endgame. A chaste kiss on the cheek changes everything for Chakotay. Four ficlets. J/C. -4th and final POV added-
1. His

**Disclaimer: **ST: VOY is not mine.

**Author's Note: **I'm pissed at this mountain of schoolwork and needed a ficlet to cool my angry blood before bed. It was therapeutic writing. Based on a fiddle by Tachyon which can be found here: http : / / i228. photobucket. com / albums / ee2 / kejaneway / goodbye .jpg (omit the spaces to see it)

**Twelve Words **

**By mistress amethyst une**

**Part 1: His **

The warmth of Kathryn's kiss lingers on my cheek. So does the sting of Seven's slap… it's over. It's all over. I'm alone now. I deserve to be.

"_Good luck, Commander."_

Those were not the three words I expected to hear when she first kissed me. Neither did I expect that kiss to be the chaste one she left on my cheek. We'd just arrived on Earth and the ship was being shut down. I was in Astrometrics with Seven, doing final checks. That's when she did it. Left a warm kiss on my cheek, wished me luck, and walked off. Damn her…

"_We are done."_

And those were Seven's three words to me when she left me in Arizona after she slapped me. Again, not the three words I wanted to hear. By the way, before you go judging her, let it be known that she had good reason to give me a thwack. Heck, she should have used me as a punching bag. Let's just say it's difficult to forgive your boyfriend for constantly calling you by another woman's name.

"_I missed you."_

I tell Kathryn this over a communications channel. My three words. Her image smiles smugly.

"_Missed you too."_


	2. Hers

**Disclaimer: **ST: VOY is not mine.

**Author's Note: **Yes, I'm still pissed. No, I won't be sleeping tonight. Yes, I'm practicing math. No, I'm not enjoying it. (takes a break to write this and dives back into numerical hell)

**Twelve Words **

**By mistress amethyst une**

**Part 2: Hers**

It's only a matter of time. He'll come. You'll see.

"_Good luck, Commander."_

Three little words that should send him scurrying sooner or later. I kissed him right in front of his new girlfriend. A chaste kiss on the cheek. Yes, it was a wicked thing to do. I gave him a taste of what he was giving up. I couldn't let Seven have what I'd been saving for myself for seven years. Seven was more than a number. Seven represented a period of time. And now Seven was a human obstacle... I wonder, did a mirror break when we entered the Badlands?

_"It's about time."_

Those were the three words running through my head as a grin pasted itself on my face. Seven had broken it off with him. The reason? Oh, I loved hearing that. B'Elanna couldn't stop laughing when she told me the news. Apparently, he wasn't the sort to scream a number when in ecstacy. No... he had my name on my lips each time. Or so B'Elanna says. He'd confided in her after imbibing a bit too much following the break-up. Now, I wait.

"_I missed you."_

Those were his three words when he contacted me. I've won. I smile smugly at him. I'm sure he can clearly see my expression on the viewscreen.

"_Missed you too."_


	3. Seven's

**Disclaimer: **ST: VOY is not mine.

**Author's Note: **Math finals are over! I didn't get to go back and finish solving, "Find x. Eight raised to x minus eight raised to -x is eight." (sighs) Oh well... this is my temporary reprieve. (runs off to review for Literature and Chemistry)

**Twelve Words **

**By mistress amethyst une**

**Part 3: Seven's**

I lost him to her. Understandable.

"_Good luck, Commander."_

Those were the three words she said before she kissed him. I looked on. I could not stop her. I did not see his face. His back was turned. All I saw was her look of... triumph? Yes, that was the emotion she expressed as she planted her lips on his cheek. I did not understand. I assumed she wished us well. That was the sentiment I discerned from her words. I was mistaken. She had wished him good luck but she had not meant to wish us well on our romantic endeavor. She had wished him luck on pursuing her. Yes, that is the correct interpretation of her statement.

_"We are done."_

I am not Kathryn. Kathryn is the captain's name, not mine. I am Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero One, or, if he would have preferred, Annika Hansen. Seven or Annika would have been acceptable terms to address me by. Kathryn is not. He had erroneously called me Kathryn approximately four hundred and eighty two times over the course of two months, one week and five days. I ended our amorous liaison when he called me Kathryn for the four hundred and eighty third time. I felt frustration and I concede to allowing myself to act on the instinctive urge to slap him. I left him. I knew that he had a history with the captain. I did not know they were ever intimate. That is the only viable explanation I have for him calling me Kathryn during copulation. They must have used extreme discretion onboard Voyager. How could this have escaped my notice?

"_I am sorry."_

I see him again at the celebration commemorating Voyager's return to Earth one year ago. I see him and take the opportunity to apologize for having allowed myself such an outburst and ending our relationship on impulse. I can only hope I did not cause him injury. No, I have no desire to resume our liaison. I do not wish to face frustration again. I watch him wrap his arm around the woman beside him. I am sure this woman does not mind being called Kathryn. It is, after all, her name. She smiles at me. That same expression of triumph on her face as when she first kissed his cheek in front of me.

_"Good luck, Seven."_


	4. Theirs

**Disclaimer: **ST: VOY is not mine.

**Author's Note: **Finals and this fic are finally over. Relieving the last of the stress. Chemistry killed me so I'm doing extra-credit. Literature was... euphoric. I think I went into a trance. Don't really remember the poetry criticism essays I wrote, but my pen lost a lot of ink, my hand hurt like hell, and the answer booklet was full by the time the two hours were up. Good to know there's one thing I'm not horrible at. xD

**Twelve Words **

**By mistress amethyst une**

**Part 4: Theirs**

We're happy for them.

_"Of course, Chakotay."_

That was her response when he asked her to marry him at the party. It was a shock to all of us. After seven years of pussyfooting in the Delta Quadrant, their relationship was finally coming to fruition. Took them long enough. We thought it wasn't ever going to happen after we found out he was dating Seven. Speaking of which...

_"I am happy."_

And denial is a river in Egypt. Seven was the one casualty of the union between the captain and the commander. As much as we hated seeing her with him, one had to be heartless not to feel sorry for her. She spent the rest of the anniversary party taking advantage of her low tolerance for alcohol. This must have hit her hard. Last we saw of her, she was pretty green around the gills. Doc took her out for some fresh air. We heard retching. The commander was about to come running. The captain stopped him. With that serious look on her face, she whispered to him. He nodded and she let herself out. We all saw the concern on her face as she made her way to the doors. The captain loved the commander and was quite pleased to have had him come running to her, after he and Seven had fallen apart. Still, we all knew the last thing she wanted was to find happiness at the expense of someone else. The commander gave us all a warning glare. None of us dared follow the captain out to see what was going on.

_"She'll be fine."_

That's all the Doctor would tell us. He didn't say much about what he witnessed out there. We can only suppose that he held Seven's hair as the poor thing succumbed to the effects of intoxication. We can only suppose that the captain came to calm her and reassure her that everything would be just fine. We can only suppose that Seven listened. We can only suppose Seven cried because her fail-safe was gone, and she felt like us mere mortals now. We can only suppose that beneath that technological shell, her heart was broken. We can only suppose the captain understood perfectly since the roles had reversed now. We can only suppose the captain felt the same way when Seven had been dating the commander. We can only suppose.

_"Is she smiling?"_

That was the question on everyone's lips as Seven arrived on the Doctor's arm for the less formal anniversary get-together we conducted a month following the mess at the anniversary party Starfleet had held. Yes, she was smiling. It was a sight to behold. She seemed to have a handle on things now. We heard she had been taking more lessons from the Doctor. Heartbreak takes awhile to heal, so there was still a hint of sadness in her smile. She turned her smile to the captain and the commander. They smiled back.

* * *

...before she drew a phaser and shot them where they stood. xD Kidding!


End file.
